Welcome to the Graduate Program

Think of the Neuroscience Training Program at Johns Hopkins as an expedition, where you will search the frontiers of science for discoveries that explain the inner workings of the nervous system.

Participation in extensive collaborations, access to cutting-edge resources, and exposure to world-class research, await students in our program.

The Neuroscience Training Program and the Neuroscience Department were among the first neuroscience-focused academic centers established in the United States, dating back to 1980. Our faculty have trained over 250 PhD and MD/PhD students and 500 postdoctoral fellows in just the past ten years, partnerships that have led to fundamental discoveries in the organization of the cerebral cortex, neurotransmitter signaling, neuronal and glial cell development, and circuit function.

Our students represent the brightest young scientific minds, and many have shown an early commitment to research. Because they enter our Program with different backgrounds, and the laboratories in which they choose to work are so diverse, our program is designed to be flexible. All doctoral candidates receive full tuition remission and a stipend for the duration of their studies. Currently, 177 doctoral candidates and 200 postdoctoral fellows work in the faculty laboratories, creating a diverse community that fosters development of novel approaches to answer complex questions.

The goal of the Program to ensure that our students obtain broad training in the neurosciences. Our curriculum spans the breadth of modern neuroscience, from molecular/cellular underpinnings to systems/cognitive integration, and offers a rich training experience that brings students to the forefront of research in their particular area of interest, in preparation for a rewarding, independent career in the sciences.

Core courses cover the basics of molecular and cellular neuroscience, neuroanatomy, and systems neuroscience. Electives and laboratory rotations provide students with specialized training, and the Department’s long-standing seminar series brings in weekly national and international luminaries, exposing students and fellows to the full spectrum of the world’s most exciting new discoveries in neuroscience.

Our 32 primary faculty, together with 73 other faculty who have secondary appointments in the Department, offer graduate students and postdoctoral fellows an incomparable neuroscience training experience. Our students also have the opportunity perform laboratory rotations and conduct thesis research in the laboratory of scientists at Janelia Research Campus of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, located near Leesburg Virginia. Faculty in the many departments associated with the Program share a commitment to training the next generation of scientists.

In recognition of this outstanding environment, our graduate program is consistently ranked among the best in the country, and our graduates have gone on to faculty positions at other leading institutions and senior research positions in pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

There has never been a more exciting time in the field of neuroscience. We hope you will join us in this journey of discovery.